What The Future Holds
by SunlightOnTheWater
Summary: Seeing the future has always been a burden to Mallory Banes, twin of Mikaela. When Mal sees something that terrifies her she is forced to decide where her loyalties really lie, with her sister of herself. AU of T1,ROTF, and DOTM
1. Chapter One: What the Future Holds

Author's Note: Ok, so I know this chapter is short but it's one to introduce my OC, Mallory Banes, and give you the beginning of the plot. This will start at the beginning of Transformers and then go at least through Rise of the Fallen. I haven't decided if I will change Dark of the Moon and add it to this story yet. Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter One- What the Future Holds<em>

Seventeen year old Mallory Banes sat in her last period history class hoping beyond hope that she would make it through the rest of the day without another incident. Mallory glanced at her twin sister Mikaela who offered a small but brilliant smile before turning to face the front again. Mikaela thought that Mallory's odd spells were seizures but in truth Mallory saw the future. Mallory was gifted with the ability to see things that might come to pass and to control wind to a certain extent. It made her different from everyone else around her but with Mikaela's support she never fell too far down the social ladder. Despite their differences the twins loved each other and that was what had kept them best friends for this long.

Sam Witwickey, the last student to do a report on this fine summer day, walked up to the front of the classroom and Mallory felt her muscles twitch. _Please no_, she thought but it was too late. She noticed Mikaela focus on Sam and his presentation and that was when it happened. Her muscles jerked, tensed, and then the vision began.

**Sam and Mikaela were running from a black and white patrol car with the words "to punish and enslave" written in curving cursive on the side.** **Their emotions were disbelieving and desperate**. Mallory jerked again and crashed to the floor as the vision-world changed. **She was standing next to a massive black and white robot that looked eerily like the patrol car that had been chasing Sam and Mikaela. She felt oddly ashamed but her back was straight and her expression determined. A group of cars turned around the corner and transformed into more massive robots. Sam and Mikaela stepped out of one disguised as a camaro before it too transformed. Mikaela's wide and disbelieving eyes focused on Mallory and she looked as if she was about to cry.** Mallory jerked again as the vision changed; no longer aware of the outside world around her. ** She was standing in the shadows of a massive building at Mission City. A large black and silver robot was about to tear a smaller silver one in half but she flared her fingers and a blast of air knocked the larger one flat. Then she was standing a few feet from that spot watching Sam and Mikaela kiss before Sam ran off with a strange metallic cube.**

Mallory came too in the nurse's office with Mikaela hovering over her. "Are you okay?" the caramel haired girl asked and Mallory sat up, brushing her black curls out of her face before managing a smile.

"Fine sis," she responded easily as Mikaela helped her up. Mikaela smiled and handed over Mallory's light blue and silver back pack. Together the two slipped through the crowds where they parted ways. Mallory walked down the sidewalk towards home while Mikaela went over to talk to Trent, her current boyfriend. Mallory worked through her homework and then walked to the doctor's office for her check up; informing Dr. Alice Lendan that she had experienced another "seizure". All in all it seemed like a normal day but Mallory's latest vision haunted her. She had seen herself betray Mikaela and had no idea why. She would never betray her sister. It wasn't in her morals to betray someone she loved that much. That decided Mallory took a shower and slipped into bed, too exhausted to think anymore.


	2. Chapter Two: The Terrifying Truth

Author's Note: Thanks for all the alerts and favorites for this story! This is another set up chapter so once again not very long but the next one will be longer. I own nothing but Mallory. Enjoy!

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><p><em>Chapter Two-The Terrifying Truth<em>

Mallory's dreams that night were terrifying and there was nothing she could do to stop them. **She stood next to Mikaela staring at the massive robots on the other side. "The Decepticons," Sam whispered fearfully. "How did they find us?" It didn't matter though. They attacked and the smaller yellow robot that was protecting Mikaela, Mallory, and Sam was killed by the one masquerading as a police car. Tears were pouring down Sam and Mikaela's faces but Mallory just felt numb.**

For a moment Mallory almost jerked awake but then a new vision started and she was trapped again. ** She watched as the small silver robot was ripped in half by what was probably the leader of the Decepticons. She watched as Sam's life was extinguished and then from the outside as her own was leeched away in an attempt to get away with the metallic cube. She saw tears pouring down Mikaela's face as the leader of the good robots, a blue semi with red flames in his alternate form, sacrificed himself to destroy the cube and even then the Decepticons still won.**

Mallory jerked again violently and tried to wake but couldn't. ** She saw an older Mikaela coated in dirt standing on the surface of a ruined Earth at two rocky graves with substitute grave markers, tears pouring down her messy face. One of the grave markers said Samuel Witwickey and the other one said Mallory Banes. A massive black robot and a search and rescue hummer sat behind her and a man in an army uniform stood at another grave, crying while holding a little blonde haired girl. The marker on that grave read Sarah Lennox.**

Mallory jerked awake with tears pouring down her face. Her heart ached as she sobbed for all the destruction and pain she had just seen. She had just seen the truth and it was terrifying. To save Mikaela she would have to betray her twin. That was when she heard the click of the door shutting and the quiet tread of her twin's feet on the stairs."Love you 'Kaela," she called, knowing her sister would hear her.

"Love you too Mal," Mikaela called back.

"You love Sam Witwickey too don't you?" Mallory asked, wanting to know that there was a good reason for what she was doing.

"I think I just might," Mikaela said and then there was the click of her twin's door shutting and Mallory was left alone with her thoughts. She fell asleep shortly afterwards and another vision captured her.

**She was standing in an old junkyard in front of the black and white patrol car mimic who looked injured and defeat. "I can tell you where they'll be later tonight," she said coldly and the robot glanced at her.**

"**You would be willing to betray your kind to us?" it asked, sounding confused but almost hopeful. **

"**I would," Mallory said. "I will show you where they'll be." The robot nodded and with a groan of gears and twisted metal transformed into the mustang police car. A door swung open and Mallory slipped in, only speaking to give the occasional direction that would lead them to where the robots would pass by to get to Sam's house.**


	3. Chapter Three: First Step

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who alerted and faved this (though reviews would be helpful...*wink*)! This is where everything really starts moving so enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Three-First Step<em>

Mallory and Mikaela sat outside with a group of chatty, bubbly girls that made up the popular squad as they enjoyed the sunshine. That was when Sam Witwickey raced by on a pink bicycle. He slammed into a rise on the sidewalk and face planted only to scramble back onto the bike and yell something about Satan's Camaro. Mallory couldn't help but snicker as Mikaela sighed heavily and scrambled onto her blue scooter.

"You coming Mal?" she asked but Mallory shook her head regretfully, knowing that she couldn't change her mind now.

"Nope 'Kaela. I still have to work on my report for English and I just had an idea I don't want to lose. I'll walk home," Mallory lied.

"Kay. See you later Mal," Mikaela called as she started up the scooter.

"Later 'Kaela," Mallory called and she watched her sister go sadly. Then she made her way into and alley and down a couple roads to hide at the old car dump and factory area. That was when the vision started.

**Sam Witwickey came racing out of the factory and slammed in Mikaela, knocking her off the scooter. "We have to go," he said frantically, pulling her up. "There's this monster chasing me." As if on cue a giant robot loomed out of the shadows and the two of them ran only to have the yellow camaro stop by them and fling open a door. The two jumped in the car and it shot off, the police car right behind them.**

Mallory gasped and pulled out of the vision, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She already knew Mikaela came out fine so why was she worrying? It didn't make sense. Before she could consider it more the next vision pulled her in. **She saw the black and white police car fall and not get back up. She watched as Sam and Mikaela slipped into the once again camaro and saw the car drive away with her twin and Sam inside.**

Mallory slipped past piles of junk until she knew where the black and white police car mimic was. "I can remedy your failure," she told the Decepticon softly and his red optics fixed on her. "I know where they will be later this night."

"You would be willing to betray your own kind to us?" he asked and Mallory felt something shiver and break in pain inside her.

"Yes," she said painfully. "I will show you where they will pass." The Decepticon studied her for a moment then transformed with a groaning of metal before opening a door for her to climb inside. "Follow the main street for a while," Mallory commanded as they pulled out of the alley and onto the road.

She was so focused on trying not to cry that she almost missed it when the Decepticon spoke. "Why are you doing this?"

"The girl with Sam is my twin," Mallory said slowly. "I have seen her lose everything if I don't do this. I'm doing this for her."

"What does that mean for us?" the robot asked and Mallory saw the brief flash of a vision showing herself on a farm that looked like Aunt Alisa's speaking to the car.

"You will lose," she said after a moment of hesitation. "I would advise you to stay out of the final battle if it is possible."

There was a long pause and then the Decepticon said, "I thank you. My designation is Barricade."

"Turn left here," Mallory told him. "My name is Mallory. Left again." They arrived at a park and Mallory said, "Pull over here. They'll be here in about five minutes." The door flung open and Mallory stepped out into the warm night somehow feeling better than she had before.


	4. Chapter Four: Not What It Seems

Author's Note: Thanks to _hidansgirl1234_ and _I am Blueberry_ for reviewing the last chapter! The song immersed in this chapter (the italics) is Life After You by Daughtry. Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory. Also I'm putting a picture of what I think Mallory would look like on my profile page if you're interested.

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><p><em>Chapter Four-Not What It Seems<em>

Mallory stood next to a now transformed Barricade whose job was to protect her during the fight that would follow. She watched as the Autobots turned a corner only to spin and all but the yellow transformed. "You thought you could hide from us," one of the Decepticons sneered and Mallory watched as Mikaela and Sam slipped out of the yellow car and it transformed as well. Mikaela's stunned eyes fixed on Mallory and the girl knew that her twin understood.

"Bring it on Blackout," the small silver Autobot snarled as Mikaela began to cry softly. Mikaela was stunned. How could her sister betray her like this? Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she sobbed quietly, tears pouring down her face. Her twin had betrayed their world to the Decepticons.

"Why?" she asked Mallory, her broken voice carrying across the tense silence to her twin.

"I did what had to be done," Mallory replied coolly from her position beside the evil police car mimic. Her twin's voice held no regret and her eyes were steady. Mikaela couldn't do anything but cry harder.

"Ya stinkin' cowards destroyin' families like that," the silver Autobot growled and Blackout lunged foreword only to be stopped by a brown one called Bonecrusher.

"We'll let you Autobots on your way but we'll be back," Boncrusher sneered before vanishing into the darkness. Barricade transformed, door flung open, and Mallory climbed in, ignoring her twin as much as she could. As they drove down the road her heart broke.

_Ten miles from town and I just broke down._

_Spitting out smoke on the side of the road._

_I'm out here alone just trying to get home_

_To tell you I was wrong but you already know._

_Believe me I won't stop at nothing_

_To see you so I've started running_

Tears poured down Mallory's face as she sobbed quietly, Mikaela's face burned into her mind. She had betrayed her sister, her only friend, and the entire human race. All she had ever wanted was to help. How could things have gone so wrong?

_All that I'm after is a life full of laughter as long as I'm laughing with you_

_I'm thinking all that still matters is love ever after_

_After the life we've been through_

_Cause I know there's no life after you_

At least Mikaela would have Sam. And her new friends. And she would leave Mallory behind like a bad dream. The final thought made the tears start all over again.

_Last time we talked , the night that I walked, burns like an iron in the back of my mind_

_I must have been high to say you and I weren't meant to be_

_And just wasting my time_

They had been best friends last night. Now tonight she had hurt Mikaela worse than death. Mallory was crying so hard now that she didn't even notice that Barricade had pulled over.

_Oh, why did I ever doubt you?_

_You know I would die here without you_

_All that I'm after is a life full of laughter as long as I'm laughing with you_

_I'm thinking that all that still matters is life ever after_

_After the life we've been through_

_Cause I know there's no life after you_

Mallory began to run out of tears but the pain was still there. "Where are we?" she asked in a broken voice, looking out the window.

"At the edge of town," Barricade said and they sat in silence for a moment. "Sometimes it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel," the Decepticon said finally. "Remember why you're doing this." Then he pulled back onto the road and headed towards Mallory and Mikaela's house.

_You and I, right or wrong, there's no other one_

_After the time spent alone_

_It's hard to believe that a man with sight could be so blind_

_Thinking 'bout the better times_

_Must've been out of my mind_

_So I'm running back to tell you_

Mallory slipped into the house, tears staining her face, only to be greeted by Mikaela. Mikaela who looked saddened by her twin's tears and obvious pain. Which only made Mallory cry harder.

_All that I'm after is a life full of laughter as long as I'm laughing with you_

_I'm thinking all that still matters is a life ever after_

_After the life we've been through_

_Cause I know there's no life after you._

"Would you believe me if I said I'm sorry?" Mallory asked brokenly.

"I don't know," Mikaela said after a moment and Mallory nodded, heading for the stairs. "Mal," Mikaela called after her sister and Mallory paused without turning around. "Aunt Alisa is coming to get you tomorrow." Mallory nodded and raced up the stairs before she could start sobbing again. _Remember who you're doing this for_. She fell asleep hearing those words in her head. Mercifully there were no visions. The next afternoon Aunt Alisa arrived. Mallory was sitting outside with her things packed into two suitcases and a backpack. She wouldn't speak the entire ride to Mission City.


	5. Chapter Five: Battle For Mission City

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ (don't worry, Mallory's reasons will be explained clearly soon enough) for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Five-Battle for Mission City<em>

Mallory sat in the hotel room in Mission City staring out the window and hoping for a vision. Aunt Alisa hadn't asked Mal any questions and, being exhausted from not being able to sleep on the plane, was now sleeping like the dead. That was when an explosion rocked the room and the vision began. **Sam and Mikaela were both lying on the ground as the yellow robot protecting them tried to stand with no legs. And a jet that was probably Starscream soared off. Bonecrusher, Brawl, and Blackout where there as well but no sign of Barricade.** Mallory jerked to her feet and ran out the door, ignoring Aunt Alisa's startled cry. She ran down the stairs and out the door past startled hotel workers. She made her way through the alleyways until she could see the tower she had noticed in her earlier vision.

The next vision came through a swirl of static. **The small silver Autobot lunged at Megatron snarling, "You want a piece of me? You wanna piece a meh?" Megatron ripped him in half.** Mallory found herself in the present only to see Megatron holding the silver Autobot in her vision just moments ago. Mal didn't think about the fact that she had never been able to control her knack with wind before; she just flared her fingers sharply, teeth gritted with anger. The blast of wind smacked into the large Decepticon leader who lost his grip on the silver 'Bot and dropped him, falling off the tower with a colossal thud that jarred Mallory's bones.

She stared in astonishment and delight at the havoc her gift had caused. That was when there was a squeal of tires somewhere behind her. Mallory would have missed it except for the fact that it was right behind her. She spun around and then jumped back with a yelp when Barricade threw open his door, almost hitting her in the process. "What are you doing in here?" she asked. "I thought I told you to stay away."

"Making sure you don't do anything stupid and get yourself killed," Barricade replied. "Now get in."

"Nope," Mallory said, turning back in time to see Mikaela and Sam kiss before Sam darted off with the cube.

"You're going to get killed," Barricade argued.

"I'll be fine," Mallory began to protest. "Honest…" That was when her vision flashed. **Starscream was flying right over where Barricade and Mallory were. One moment the jet was chasing Sam and the next he was attacking Barricade. The police car mimic offlined in an attempt to protect her and Mallory died.** "Never mind," she said quickly, darting inside the police car. Barricade was pulling away before she could reach for a seatbelt.

"Don't bother telling me where you're staying," Barricade said. "I already know."

"You stalking me or something?" Mallory asked with a raised eyebrow and got a muted growl in response. She just grinned widely, sensing no menace behind his action. Barricade pulled up to the still standing hotel and flung open his door for Mallory to get out. "Thanks," she said and slipped out, heading for the hotel. She had her hand on the door when she felt an overwhelming rush of feeling that was a mixture of sadness of relief. She froze and let go of the door, spinning in time to see Barricade pull around the corner. That was odd. "Until we meet again," she said softly, reaching for the door and she almost felt a hint of not quiet amusement before she entered the hotel.

Mallory climbed the stairs and entered the hotel room, using the key she had kept in her pocket since she and Aunt Alisa had checked in. Instantly she was trapped in her Aunt's embrace. "Oh Mal," Aunt Alisa said. "I thought you had died or something."

"Sorry Aunt A," Mallory said. "I won't do it again."

"Please don't," Aunt Alisa said and then they both laughed.

"Looks like our flight is going to be a little delayed," Mallory said and Aunt Alisa smiled.

"I'd say so," she replied and they were right. The airport had cancelled all flights and rescheduled them over the next couple days. Aunt Alisa and Mallory's flight was to take off at eight the next morning. They would arrive after almost four hours and drive to what would be Mallory's new home.


	6. Chapter Six: Flight Time

Author's Note: Ok so I'll admit (as _Blueberry_ correctly pointed out) the last chapter wasn't one of my better ones. Originally it was more detailed but when I started typing my mind went blank and I lost my ideas. Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ and_ Riptide2_ for reviewing the last chapter. I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Six-Flight Time<em>

Going through airport security was, always had been, and probably always would be a pain. It took them twenty minutes and then they had to run to the correct terminal to get on the plane. One they were settled a still tired Mallory drifted off to sleep. The vision came to her almost immediately. ** Mikaela and Sam were sitting in the back of an ambulance laughing. Somewhere else the Autobots were speaking to a few White House representatives. The soldiers from Qatar were being reunited with their families and Barricade was on an unfamiliar road driving.**

Mallory was jolted awake an hour into the flight when a flight attendant with a name tag that said Carrie accidentally bumped into her arm. "I'm so sorry," the woman said with an apologetic smile.

"No problem," Mallory replied with an answering smile. She was asleep within fifteen minutes.

**She had her cell phone held to her ear and was talking to Sam. She couldn't hear what either one of them was saying but he looked like he had gained some new kind of understanding. Mikaela and Sam then were at the lake together laughing and smiling widely. Mallory saw herself playing soccer in the road with a few Hispanic girls and laughing until she saw a battered police car driving down the road. One of the girls' mothers called her in and the others grabbed up their things and headed back in. Dark storm clouds blew across the horizon. The first rain drops fell on the hard packed dirt road and Mallory allowed a smiled to slip across her face.**

"We will be arriving in Indianapolis in five minutes. It is ten o'clock there and the weather is sunny and ninety-five. Thank you for flying with us and please enjoy your stay," a voice over the loud speaker said, jolting Mallory awake. So Barricade was coming here. That was an interesting development. Of course so was the fact that she suddenly had friends in the vision even though Aunt Alisa was going to home school her through the last few weeks of school.

The drive to Aunt Alisa's old farmhouse was mostly boring except for one thing. There were two other farmhouses on either side of Aunt Alisa's. "Carla, Crystal, and Costanza Marco live in the one on the left and Jasmine and Elena Rubalcava live in the one on the right. Hopefully you girls can be friends," Aunt Alisa said. Mallory had to wonder if they weren't the girls she had seen in her vision.

She closed her eyes briefly and saw herself talking to Sam again. She did have his number, she had taken it from Mikaela's phone just before she had betrayed her sister, but it made no sense for her to talk to Sam unless… She had felt a compulsion to explain everything to someone. Maybe Sam was who she should tell. "We're here," Aunt Alisa announced suddenly, parking the truck. "Your bedroom is on the top floor, second door on the left." Mallory nodded and grabbed her backpack, ducking out of the truck and following her aunt into the house. She ascended the stairs a slipped into her room, flopping on the bed and pulling out her phone. She found Sam's number and dialed it. To her surprise he answered on the first ring.

"I would have thought you wouldn't answer for an unfamiliar number after what just happened," Mallory said with a slight smile on her face.

"Mallory?" Sam asked sounding slightly stunned. "Mallory Banes?"

"The one and only," Mallory said dryly. "Look Sam. I need to explain what's going on."

"Sure as heck you do," Sam snapped. "You betrayed us."

"Yes but for a good reason," Mallory said.

"What kind of good reason can anyone come up with to betray the human race to a bunch of maniacs?" Sam practically yelled. Mallory held the phone away from her ear and winced.

When he was finished she said," How about the fact that you would die, I would die, and the Autobots would lose." Dead silence on the other side of the phone. "Has Mikaela told you about the 'affliction'? The truth."

"She said you see the future," Sam said slowly. "I'm not sure I believe it."

"I do," Mallory said with a heavy sigh. "It's not like I want to but I do. I saw everyone fail if I sided with you so I did what I thought was best and betrayed you all. I am sorry."

"You really believe this?" Sam asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Mallory said simply. "Will you tell Mikaela some day? The truth I mean."

"You'll tell her yourself," Sam replied. "I'll back you up. Thanks for explaining Mallory."

"Thanks for actually believing," Mallory responded before hanging up. Then she went to take her shower and go to bed. Despite all the sleep on the plane ride she was still somehow exhausted. Thirty minutes later she was in bed and when Aunt Alisa came up to tell Mal it was time for supper the teen was fast asleep.


	7. Chapter Seven: Mikaela,Soccer,&Barricade

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_(so glad it was better!) and _Riptide2_ for reviewing the last chapter. Now enjoy while Mallory gets quite a surprise and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Seven-Mikaela, Soccer, and Barricade<em>

Mallory woke up at two in the morning with the vague sense that she should call Mikaela. The teen closed her eyes and tried to remember what she had seen. It took a moment but slowly the picture came back to her. **Mikaela was sitting on her bed with a crystalline tear sliding down her cheek. She was holding a picture with broken glass, as if she had thrown it, that showed her and Mallory standing under a tree near the lake with wide smiles in identical brown bikinis. Mikaela was clutching the picture so hard that Mallory was honestly surprised that her twin hadn't shattered it.**

Without hesitation Mallory dialed Mikaela's number and listened to the phone ring. Mikaela answered on the third ring. "What do you want?" Mikaela asked harshly.

"To talk," Mallory replied.

"Well I don't want to," Mikaela snapped and hung up. Mallory sighed and put the phone down, slipping back into bed. She tried to drift off but couldn't sleep. She stumbled downstairs fully dressed and showered but completely exhausted at seven in the morning. After breakfast she was somewhat awake when there was knock on the door. Aunt Alisa answered it and a moment later a dark haired girl with startling green eyes plopped down at the table next to Mallory.

"Hi," she said with a grin that made Mallory smile.

"Hi. I'm Mallory," she replied.

"Jasmine Rubalcava at your service," the other girl responded with an easy smile. "You want to play soccer?"

"I don't know how," Mallory told Jasmine.

"You'll learn quick enough with us teaching you," Jasmine said, grabbing Mallory's arm and pulling her up. "Come on." Mallory shook her head with a smile and went. By noon she was sweaty but wide awake and slightly bruised from learning the basics. Her feet ached but she was almost happy. She slipped inside and as she ate her lunch she checked out blog sites. At least if Mikaela ever listened and forgave her they could connect through a blog. She bookmarked a couple promising ones before Jasmine dragged her back outside to work on soccer skills again.

The next few days went in much the same pattern. Mallory woke up at odd times in the morning and called Mikaela who blew her off. Then she went to join Jasmine, Carla, Crystal, Costanza, and Elena in playing street soccer against the Hernandez girls (Maria, Emma, and Vikki), the Peralta girls (Janet and Liseth), and Gabriella Gonzales. They paused for lunch and Mallory worked on the blog which she had dubbed The Connection and invited Sam to join, an invitation that he had surprisingly accepted. Then the girls played soccer until supper time. After supper Mallory worked on home school work and then went to bed until the next vision woke her.

A week after Mission City Mallory was finally beginning to get the hang of soccer. It had been a humid day and now after lunch storm clouds were gathering thick and fast but the girls didn't care. As long as it wasn't raining they could still play. Thunder rumbled and they all paused and looked up at the sky with some irritation, letting the ball roll away. As the first raindrops fell Mallory went to retrieve the ball. When she stood up straight again with the ball she saw a very familiar police car sitting in the road. _Barricade?_ She thought with a single eyebrow raised. Unless her calculations were off he was about a week early.

_Yes it's me. Who else did you think it was?_ came the sour reply as it began to rain. Mallory twitched and tossed the ball to Costanza.

"Later," the other girl called and ran off as fat raindrops hit the dry, dusty ground.

"You heard me?" Mallory asked in surprise.

"Yes," the police car mimic replied sourly. "You did say it out loud."

"No I didn't," Mallory said and the police car seemed to freeze completely. Mallory felt a wave of surprise that wasn't all hers and tilted her head to one side. "This is an interesting development," she said.

"You have no idea," Barricade replied. "Now is there somewhere I can get out of the elements because I really, really hate rain?"

"Yeah. Follow me," Mallory said. They made it into the barn just as it began to pour. "Now explain to me why you're here and what you meant when you said I had no idea," she ordered, sitting down on a hay bale facing him.

"I guess both answers connect now that I know," Barricade said slowly. "I'm here because after I left you I felt like I needed to go back. I tried to ignore it but in the end I followed it here. "

"What about the last part?" Mallory asked warily. She already had a feeling that she wouldn't like this.

"Bear with me while I get through this," Barricade said and Mallory nodded reluctantly. "You can hear me in your mind and I can hear you. You can also feel some of what I feel correct?"

"Yes," Mallory said, dragging out the s.

"On Cybertron when a mech and femme bond and become sparkmates they can feel what their significant others feel and hear their partner in their mind without a com," Barricade said.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" Mallory asked sharply.

"Yes. That we're bonded somehow," Barricade stated flatly. Mallory's emotions ran wild in that instant and she turned and ran out into the pouring rain, standing there until she felt numb as she watched the lightning flash and the thunder rumble.


	8. Chapter Eight: It Matters

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory. (WARNING: Barricade may be a little OOC but everything will be explained soon enough. Just stick with me for a few chapters)

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><p><em>Chapter Eight- It Matters<em>

Mallory slowly made her way into the house, dripping wet. Aunt Alisa said nothing about her niece's appearance, a fact for which Mallory was eternally grateful. The tired and shocked girl slipped into the shower and after she was clean and dry she slipped into bed and fell asleep. For the first time she didn't dream of Mikaela. What she dreamt instead would be the first of many strange experiences.

She was standing in a metallic room. The walls and ceiling were a shiny silver metal while the floor was a deep sapphire blue with thin gold swirls through it. A massive door was shut on one side of the room and on the other was a pair of French doors that seemed out of place in the massive room. As Mallory walked closer to them she realized that she recognized them as the ones that led to the balcony at Aunt Alisa's house in the library. The French doors flung open and a cool breeze blew her hair back. Mallory stepped on to a massive concrete balcony with a thick concrete barrier between her and the empty space. She recognized this from some place she had been but instead of an expansive human city below her she saw a burning one. Metal glowed with heat and towers were crumbled and falling. It looked abandoned, a fact that Mallory easily understood. The most startling part of the dream though was who was standing on the balcony, leaning against the concrete railing.

It was a man a few years older than Mallory with dark brown hair in what looked like a navy blue police uniform. When he turned she saw red eyes and everything suddenly began to fall into place. "Barricade?" she asked and the young man nodded.

"Welcome to the dreamscape," he replied. "You seem to have added to it in a way." Mallory walked over to stand next to him, wind ruffling her hair. "I like the changes," he added in an offhand tone but his red eyes were intense when they met hers. Mallory could feel her face flush slightly and she turned to take in the view.

"What is this place?" she asked, surveying the ruined city.

"Iacon," Barricade responded. "Once the beauty of Cybertron. The war destroyed it. I won't lie and say I wasn't glad to see it fall at the time. Now I can't even remember the way it looked before. I come here every night in an attempt to remember but it doesn't work." He sounded so sad that Mallory wanted to reach out and comfort him but she didn't. For a long moment they stood silently and then Barricade said," Nice outfit by the way."

Mallory looked at herself and blinked. She was wearing a red halter top and a pair of dark jean shorts with bare feet. On her left hand on the top plainly visible was a scarlet letter B. Betrayer. A wry smile crossed Mallory's mouth and she said," The Scarlet Letter."

"Pardon?" Barricade asked.

"Nathaniel Hawthorne," Mallory said by way of explanation and Barricade asked nothing more.

Then he sighed heavily and said, "I'm sorry about all this."

"What do you mean?" Mallory asked, turning to face him fully. His red eyes met her brown ones levelly.

"That we now share the same dreamscape proves my suspicion. We are a bonded pair," Barricade admitted slowly. "I am sorry that you have to suffer for this."

"Does what I feel really matter?" Mallory asked curiously.

"Of course it does," Barricade replied immediately. "You are my other half and if this makes you unhappy I'll stay away from you and close the bond without another thought."

"If it really does matter," Mallory said with a wry twist of her lips. "Then let the record show that I don't mind a bit. I just needed some time to adjust to what I think I may have already known; to accept it." Then she leaned forward and kissed him. She woke up when her phone buzzed, a smile on her face. Then she looked at who was calling and her smile faded. Why in the world would Samuel Witwickey be calling her at four in the morning?


	9. Chapter Nine: Egypt and The Fallen

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ (Unfortunately they won't because Fated takes place during a sort of shifted timeline with the Autobots being on Earth longer) for reviewing the last chapter! There will be a side story (Mallory's blog) titled The Connection posted the same day as chapter ten and that will go along with corresponding chapters of this story. Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Nine-Egypt and the Fallen<em>

"What?" Mallory asked impatiently by way of greeting when she answered her cell. I'll have you know it's four in the morning.

"Sorry," Sam apologized quickly. "But we've got an emergency and this is the only number that I know the government isn't tracking. I need you to do me a huge favor. The human race is hanging in the balance!"

"What do I need to do?" Mallory asked, suddenly all business.

"I need you to call Sarah Lennox," Sam said quickly rattling off a number that she scribbled down. "Tell her to call Will and Epps and tell them to send the boss to Egypt but be discrete."

"Got it," Mallory said and then hung up. She dialed again quickly and waited while the phone rang and rang.

"Lennox household," a sweet voice answered after about the fourth ring.

"Sarah Lennox?" Mallory asked.

"Yes?" Sarah asked slowly. "How can I help you?"

"This is Mallory Banes. I have a message from Sam Witwickey to your husband but he can't seem to make it through to him without interference," Mallory said carefully.

"Well what does Sam want Will to know? I'm calling soon and I can pass on the message," Sarah said and it was clear from her voice that she had understood what Mallory was saying.

"Sam says to tell you that-," She paused as her vision flashed and the words came smoothly out of her mouth. "He says he's found something that requires the boss. He's up in the pyramids and needs the boss over there ASAP."

"Got it," Sarah said firmly. "Thank you for playing telephone Mallory. It's absolutely vital even though it isn't the most convenient." Then Sarah hung up leaving Mallory to stare at the phone. After a moment the teen shrugged and went back to sleep. This time when she dreamed there was no Barricade, only visions.

**She was standing in the dry heat of Egypt but no one could see her. Mikaela was crying over a dead Sam and then he just jerked awake. He was clutching something that glowed blue in his hand and he stood up, running for the body of Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. He made a quick stabbing motion and the blue glowing object slipped into the massive mech's body. Then the most amazing thing happened. Optimus sat up, optics alive. He said something but Mallory couldn't hear it. Then a larger mech appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the glowing blue object. "My matrix," it snarled and vanished.**

The dream changed and Mallory was once again on the balcony overlooking the ruined city of Iacon. Barricade was there as well and he looked at her strangely. That was when she realized how she really looked. She was dressed in a brown tank top and short light wash jean shorts. Her feet were cushioned in work boots and her hair was sandy and wild. "What happened to you?" her bondmate asked.

"Egypt I think," Mallory replied. His response was a raised eyebrow so Mallory explained about everything she had just seen.

"Sounds like the Fallen took the Matrix of Leadership from Prime," Barricade said. "Whenever they get back this'll be an interesting conversation."

"One that you won't be having because they'll blast you on sight," Mallory pointed out and Barricade laughed.

"Maybe and maybe not," he replied mysteriously. "We'll see when we get there." He wrapped an arm around her and she leaned easily against him.

"We will won't we?" Mallory said with a slight smile. Then her alarm buzzed and she woke.


	10. Chapter Ten: Telling the Truth

Author's Note: Thanks to _Ripdtide2_, _I am Blueberry_, and _midnight84118_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory. Also this story goes along with Chapter 1 of The Connection which I am posting next

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><p><em>Chapter Ten-Telling the Truth<em>

The next morning Mallory woke up refreshed and ready for a day of playing soccer with the girls. She showered, dressed, ate breakfast, and then met her new maybe friends out in the street. They played fast and hard that morning and Mallory relished every instant of the action. Even though she wasn't even close to playing on the same level as them she still got a piece if the action and she was becoming bold enough to muscle her way in. When they broke camp for lunch Mallory was sweaty but happy. She ate her lunch quickly and darted for the barn to check on Barricade. She wasn't surprised to see him still there but she was surprised to feel something that was almost relief from his end of the bond. "What happened to your shoulder?" he asked and Mallory snickered, sliding her hand over the dark purple bruise on her right shoulder.

"Jasmine got in a good kick and somehow I ended up blocking it with my shoulder. Thus the bruise," she responded. "I'm fine if that's what you were asking." Barricade heaved what sounded like a long suffering sigh and Mallory snickered, feeling lighter than she had in a long time.

"Hey Mallory. You coming or what?" a voice yelled. Carla.

"See you later," Mallory said and then turned and took off toward the road. They played hard and fast at the beginning of the afternoon but as the day dragged on they began to lag and when they broke for supper they were all exhausted. The humidity really wore on them. Mallory flopped on her bed, exhausted, and drifted off to sleep before she could even work up the ambition to take a shower.

**Mikaela was clutching her phone and looking both lost and confused. A feeling of longing washed over her every time she looked at Mallory's picture followed by a sense of betrayal. The red letters on the clock read two in the morning.**

Mallory woke up and grabbed her phone. Mikaela answered on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Hey Kaela," Mallory said slowly. "Can I say I'm sorry?"

"Yes," Mikaela said slowly. "Sam says I should let you explain too. That it'll help me understand."

"I don't know if it will help but I can try to explain," Mallory responded, hoping that her twin would allow her to speak this time instead of hanging up.

"Please do," Mikaela responded after a moment of silence. "You're my other half and I love you Mallory but I don't understand why you did it."

"You know when I was five and I told you the cat was going to get run over even when it had never gone into the road a couple days before it happened," Mallory said. "That was when I realized what was going on with me. I can see the future Kaela. In history I saw myself betraying you and decided right away that I would never hurt you that way."

"Yet you did," Mikaela snapped sharply.

"Because of what I saw when I went to sleep," Mallory said, feeling a wave of pain wash over her. Barricade sent a wave of comfort over the bond and Mallory drew in a shaky breath. "When I went to sleep that night I saw what would happen if I didn't betray you. I saw Sam and I die and I saw your world fall apart. I saw you be hurt by our deaths far more than by my betrayal. I made what I thought was the right decision Mikaela and I'm sorry I hurt you but I want you to know I would do it again."

"Thank you for telling me, I think," Mikaela said after a long minute and then she hung up. Mallory pulled up the internet on her phone and sent Mikaela an email with a link, username, and password to the blog before she drifted off to sleep.

In the dream she was standing in Mission City after the battle. The streets were a mess and the only familiar thing around her was a very recognizable cop with red eyes leaning against a police car. "What was going on?" Barricade asked as Mallory walked over to him, her sneakers crunching on broken glass as she approached.

"Mikaela wanted to know why I betrayed her. I told her everything but I'm not sure she believed me," Mallory said softly. Barricade did something then that took Mallory completely by surprise. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. She relaxed against him and felt a wave of peace and, curiously enough, almost a flush of satisfaction from her sparkmate. "You," she said, tapping him on the shoulder and looking up into unreadable. "Are the most ridiculous person I have ever met and I have no idea how to read you." Barricade laughed and shook his head, eyes bright with amusement. That was, of course, when her alarm rang and woke her up.


	11. Chapter Eleven: An Attempt at Ordinary

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ (yes she could), _midnight84118_, _JasmineChyanne_, and _kellyviolinthebest_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory. Two more chapters of the Connection are being posted tonight as well

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><p><em>Chapter Eleven-An Attempt at Ordinary<em>

After her reconciliation with Mikaela, Mallory became determined to make every effort at being normal. That was made difficult with the fact that her sparkmate was an alien robot. That was a fact that had been fun to explain to Mikaela after Barricade had hacked the blog. Her twin had asked permission to tell the Autobots and Mallory had reluctantly given it. Mikaela had texted her later in the day to say that the expression of surprise had been priceless. A few more people were added to her blog and Mallory sprained her ankle playing soccer. That was the first time she had seen Barricade look worried.

She and Jasmine had been running opposite directions when they slammed into each other. Mallory went down with a pain in her ankle and Jasmine already had a huge lump forming on her forehead. "You have a hard head," Jasmine informed her, rubbing the lump.

"Good," Mallory said with a grin before trying to stand up. She let out a yelp and sat back down. "I think I may have twisted my ankle," she stated calmly.

"Yes you did," Jasmine said. Carla grinned and helped Mallory up.

"You go to the house and get some ice," she drawled. "I'll help Mal here get home." Jasmine nodded and headed off to get an ice pack while Carla and Mallory limped to the big farmhouse. Aunt Alisa took one look at the girls and completely freaked out.

"Oh my Jesus," she exclaimed. "What's going on? Did you break something? Are you bleeding? How did this happen? When did it happen? Why didn't I hear anything?"

"I sprained my ankle," Mallory said calmly. "Now would you mind getting me an ice pack darling Aunt Alisa?"

"Of course," Aunt Alisa said, looking a little flustered. "Would you mind helping her upstairs to her bedroom Carla?"

"Sure thing," Carla replied but Aunt Alisa was already rushing into the kitchen to get an ice pack. The two girls made their way, painfully in Mallory's case, up the stairs and into Mallory's room where they both promptly dissolved into hysterical giggles. "Your poor aunt," Carla said when she finally could speak again and Mallory nodded, snickering.

"Thanks Carla," she said.

"Any time," Carla called before slipping out past a bemused Aunt Alisa and down the stairs to go check on Jasmine.

"Here's your ice pack honey," Aunt Alisa said, handing it over. "Get some rest now and stay off your ankle dear." With that said she headed back downstairs and Mallory leaned back against her pillows with a sigh of relief after placing the ice pack on her already swelling ankle. She should have known her privacy wouldn't last.

"Finally," a voice said and Mallory opened her eyes with a yelp of surprise. "I thought your aunt and friend would never leave."

"Barricade," she snapped in a reproving whisper, glaring at his holoform. The only response she got from him was an eye roll. He nudged her over and settled on the bed next to her, arm around her shoulder. She leaned against his chest with a sigh and an eye roll of her own.

"You should be more careful," Barricade informed her and she sat up enough so she could smack his shoulder. "I'm serious Mallory. What if you get badly injured because you do something stupid?"

"What if's don't matter," Mallory retorted. "I could have been killed in a car accident before I was even out of my mother's womb or crushed by a falling plane before you even met me."

"And that plane's name would have been Starscream," Barricade pointed out. Mallory snickered. "Seriously love," Barricade said with a grin. "Be careful ok?"

"Fine," Mallory said. "Now will you be useful and get my computer since I'm not supposed to get up?"

"Rest first," he said. "You can add to the blog later." Mallory let out a huffy sigh but leaned back against her sparkmate anyway and closed her eyes. To her surprise it wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep even though she hadn't felt tired.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Unexpected Happenings

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ (that was the reaction I was hoping for) and _Noella50881_ (it is isn't it) for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Twelve: Unexpected Happenings<em>

It was quickly becoming obvious to Mallory that she couldn't be normal. She had an alien robot for a boyfriend, could see the future, sometimes control wind or read whispers off of it, and spent the night in some dreamscape that was a bizarre mixture of the ruined Iacon and Aunt Alisa's farm. That was not normal. Despite her abnormalities Costanza, Jasmine, Carla, Crystal, and Elena had accepted her. As she fell into a routine Mallory's visions faded but she was still confused why she hadn't forseen the trouble she had that night.

She woke up when there was a tremendous bang and the wail of sirens from the direction of the barn. "Aaah!" she yelled and fell out of bed with a bang, scrambling to her feet and running for the door without another thought. She stumbled down the stairs, nearly falling in a couple places. She did fall down the last few steps and by then Aunt Alisa had flipped on the outside light, flooding the porch with a yellow glow, and was yelling on her phone. Mallory stumbled the last few steps to the torn screen door and stared out into the night. Barricade was nowhere to be seen but two men were walking drunkenly across the lawn muttering gibberish.

"What's going on?" Mallory asked as soon as her Aunt was off the phone.

"Those two tried to break and enter," Aunt Alisa replied, looking frazzled. "The police are on their way." Mallory felt a wave of dizzy confusion wash through her and she leaned against the wall, trying to process what was going on.

"What stopped them?" she asked. That was when she felt a wave of self-satisfaction over the bond and she knew. _Barricade_. She mouthed the name as Aunt Alisa gibbered on about Toby, the mangy stray dog they had ended up taking in and the downstairs clock. When the real cops arrived it took a little bit of prodding on her sparkmate's part to even get her to focus. Her mind was racing and adrenalin was rushing through her chest.

The two men Barricade had terrified were gibbering about evil demon cop cars and other such things. When the police ask about the cop car in the barn that the robbers swore had come to attack them Aunt Alisa informed them that it was a car Mallory was working on fixing up, which was sort of the case. Mikaela had been sending Mallory information as she worked to restore Barricade to his former state. It was two in the morning before the cops left with the crazy guys and Aunt Alisa went back to bed.

Mallory had to wait almost two more hours for Aunt Alisa to fall asleep before she could grab her computer and sneak out to the barn. She flipped on the lights and said, "Morning."

"Isn't it a little early for you to be up?" Barricade asked wryly and Mallory rolled her eyes.

"I'm wide awake right now," she said, leaning against him and powering up her computer. She fell asleep that way and woke up at ten the next morning when her email chimed; telling her there was a new post on the blog. She stared at it uncomprehendingly for a moment and then quickly logged on. She stared at the post and then growled in annoyance and began to type. Whoever hacked her blog was going to pay. Barricade logged on, curious, and then snickered.

"You just think its funny because you do stuff like this all the time," she growled at him, snapping her computer shut and then standing wrapping her blanket around her shoulders. She turned to stalk out of the barn when warm arms wrapped around her waist and spun her. Barricade kissed her and when he pulled away it Mallory a moment to find her train of thought.

"I'm sorry love," he said with a smirk and Mallory sighed, exasperated. She slipped out of his arms and left the barn without another word rather than beaten at her own argument by an alien robot that was connected to her in a way she couldn't explain.


	13. Chapter Thirteen:Irresistable Invitation

Author's Note: Thanks to _Riptide2_ (Heck no!) and _I am Blueberry_ (he is, isn't he?) for reviewing the last chapter. I own nothing but Mallory and will have to corresponding chapters of The Connection up next

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><p><em>Chapter Thirteen: An Irresistible Invitation<em>

The next day went smoothly though Mallory didn't help her ankle much by playing Just Dance before her vocal lesson. It made her miss Mikaela's company and she was feeling slightly down when she returned to Aunt Alisa's house after an hour of _Singing In The Rain_. She was blogging when the surprised invitation came. Mikaela wanted her to come back?

Mallory carefully placed the computer to one side and then jumped off her bed, spinning around and laughing. If she could convince Aunt Alisa to let her and Barricade drive down she and 'Kaela could celebrate their birthdays together. She turned off her computer and darted down the stairs to find Aunt Alisa sitting in the kitchen working on balancing the checkbook. "Hey Auntie dearest," Mallory said. "Mikaela and I were IMing and she asked if I could come back home for our birthdays."

"I'm not sure," Aunt Alisa replied, still working on the checkbook. "I don't have spare time right now to drive you down."

"I could drive myself," Mallory protested.

"In what?" Aunt Alisa retorted.

"The police car. It works now," Mallory said, conveniently not mentioning that the police car was also an alien robot who was her significant other.

"I'll think about it and let you know tomorrow afternoon," Aunt Alisa said with a sigh. Mallory left it at that, knowing if she pushed the answer would be no. She spent the rest of the day cleaning the house and trying to help out in hope of swaying Aunt Alisa to let her go. The next day however was bright and clear so Aunt Alisa sent her outside with the reluctant permission to play soccer. She ended up being goalie and that was when the problem began.

Something nudged her mentally and she flinched slightly, missing the ball by sixty seconds. She tossed it back in only to have Barricade poke her again mentally. The rest of the game went that way and Mallory began to compile a list of curses which she steadily had on repeat in her mind while she was playing. When she was done she had missed the ball four out of eight times and the other four times it had almost slammed into her face or stomach. She had never felt like such a klutz in her life. Once she apologized to the girls for her awful playing, which they simply shrugged off, she parted ways with them and stalked to the barn.

"What the heck are you doing?" she snarled at her sparkmate, expression furious.

"Pinging," Barricade said with something that was almost a shrug for a vehicle. "You got a problem with that?"

Mallory growled and stalked off toward the house, too angry to even deal with him. She was careful not to stomp up the stairs and she flung herself on to her bed, turning on her computer and posting on the blog. Her temper eased some as the newcomers began to post. Then it came back full force when he mentally poked her while she was typing. That was it! She tossed her computer aside with a growl and stormed down the stairs as softly as she could. When she stepped into the barn Barricade's holoform was leaning against his alt mode, smirking. She stalked straight up to him, slapped his holoform as hard as she could in the face, and then turned on her heel, going straight back to the house. All the way there she fought not to laugh at the stunned look that had been fixed on his face. She should have taken a camera with her.

She finally calmed down by supper time and ate and enjoyable supper with Aunt Alisa. She didn't push her aunt for a decision, not sure that she wanted to be with Barricade for two straight days after today, and settled down with some popcorn to watch CSI. She ended up staying up to watch the Mentalist as well and then slipped into bed, completely exhausted. When she fell asleep she didn't find herself in the mixture of Cybertron and Earth that was the dreamscape though. Instead the two hours of watching crime shows got to her.

She finally yanked herself out of her nightmares with gasp and found someone was holding her carefully. "It's okay," a voice said softly and Mallory relaxed into Barricade's hold with a shuddering gasp. Her body was soaked in sweat and her sheets were twisted awkwardly around her from her thrashings. An owl hooted somewhere, the sound drifting through her open window, and she shivered slightly. "You're safe," Barricade reassured her and she nodded slightly, snuggling against him.

"Why are you up here?" she asked curiously, yawning widely afterwards.

"I was worried when you didn't show up in the dreamscape so I came up to check on you," he replied. Mallory yawned again, more widely this time.

"Thanks," she whispered and her eyes drifted slowly closed, her mind already heavy with sleep.


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Official Permission

Author's Note: Thanks to _Riptide2_ and _I am Blueberry_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory and Aunt Alisa

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><p><em>Chapter Fourteen-Official Permission <em>

When Mallory woke up the next morning she was disoriented for a moment until she remembered that Barricade had come up to her room the night before. She sat up, not at all surprised that he was gone, and grabbed some clean clothes, showering and dressing quickly before heading down the stairs to get breakfast. "Good morning Aunt Alisa," Mallory told her aunt, kissing her on the cheek before pouring cereal into a bowl. She was in a surprisingly good mood this morning and besides her nightmare she had slept well the night before.

"Good morning Mallory," Aunt Alisa said, putting down the morning newspaper. "I've made a decision. You may drive down to see Mikaela as long as you drive safely and call me when you get there."

"Really?" Mallory asked.

"Really," Aunt Alisa confirmed and Mallory felt a wide smile slip across her face.

"Thank you so much," Mallory said, eating her breakfast quickly and then racing upstairs to pack. She wouldn't be leaving until tomorrow but she liked to be prepared and besides the girls would want to play soccer as soon as it warmed up. She posted on the blog and then scrambled back down the stairs when she heard Jasmine yell from just inside the entrance.

They played soccer until long after lunch time and finally called it quits when Jasmine looked at her watch and said she needed to get home so she could go to the dentist and not get in trouble because her mom knocked out one of her teeth because she was late. Then she winked and the girls split, giggling.

Mallory made her way to the barn to inform Barricade of what was going on and found out the reason that he had been so quiet all morning was because he was in recharge. With a quiet laugh Mallory stretched out on a hay bale and soon fell asleep herself.

The dreamscape was different this time. She was standing on the edge of a massive cliff, the wind almost blowing her away. Her hair snapped around her and from where she was standing she could see a battle below her. Barricade was one of the mechs present along with his fellow Decepticons. There were several Autobots as well but they had lesser numbers and obviously weren't warriors. They stood no chance. Mallory watched in a mixture of horror and pity as she watched the Decepticons kill. Then she was standing back on the balcony facing the ruins of Iacon as usual. Barricade was leaning against the railing, face pale. "I'm sorry," was all he said.

Mallory stepped up next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did what you had to," she said. "I don't blame you for it."

"Then who can you blame?" Barricade retorted. "I did it under no one's orders. Who else is to blame if not me?"

"Circumstance," Mallory said gently. Some things have to happen in order for us to reach the good times. Then she kissed him and allowed herself to forget the horror she had just seen.

They both woke at the same time, warm sun drenching over them. "I have news," Mallory said, standing up slowly and brushing hay out of her hair.

"What exactly?" Barricade asked, his holoform leaning against his alt mode as usual.

"We have permission to go back to Tranquility again," she said with a wide smile. "We're leaving tomorrow morning early. It's a two day drive."

"Mallory," Aunt Alisa yelled suddenly and Mallory sighed, turning to leave. She smiled as she felt an arm around her waist and she let Barricade spin her around and kiss her.

"See you tomorrow Mal," he said with his typical wicked smile before she slipped out of his hold and headed for the house, pausing only to wave behind her before she was out of view.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Setting Off

Author's Note: Thanks to _Riptide2_ (I figured I'd better address that at one point) and _I am Blueberry_ (:D) for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Fifteen- Setting Off<em>

Mallory woke early the next morning, much too excited to sleep for very long. She showered and dressed quickly, grabbing her duffle bag and scrambling down the stairs. She wasn't surprised to see Aunt Alisa waiting for her with a bagel in the kitchen. "Have fun and call me when you get there," Aunt Alisa called as Mallory headed for the dark. The teen was almost out the door when she heard her aunt call, "Wait a minute Mal. I forgot to give you something." Aunt Alisa came racing around the corner while Mallory waited impatiently by the door. He aunt pushed a thick, cream colored envelope into her hands saying, "This came for you yesterday by I forgot to give it to you."

"Thanks Aunt Alisa," Mallory said, kissing her on the cheek. 'I'll be back in a couple weeks." Then she was out the door and heading for the barn before her aunt could change her mind. She slipped in the driver's seat temporarily as they pulled away to fool Aunt Alisa and then switched to the passenger seat as soon as they were out of sight, pulling out her mp3 player and pulling off her headphones so it would act as a stereo, randomly choosing three songs and looping them on her player. She was only half listening as the miles flew by them, unaware that she was accidentally getting revenge on her sparkmate until they pulled over at a rest stop around noon. She snickered when she saw the blog post but obligingly powered down the mp3 player when she slipped back into the passenger seat.

They stopped for the night at a Holiday Inn. She checked into a room on the first floor for the night and slipped into pajamas, surprisingly tired for spending a day cooped up in a vehicle. She glanced at the envelope on top of her duffle bag and then stood up with a sigh, slowly walking over to it. The address declared it was from the Art Institute of Chicago and instantly Mallory put it back down. She doubted it was an acceptance letter and she didn't want to ruin her good mood right now. Instead she slipped into bed and flipped off the lamp, falling almost immediately into the dreamscape.

Barricade was waiting for her on the balcony as usual but this time instead of the ruins of Iacon she recognized the battle scene she had seen the night before. "Why do you keep coming back to here?" she asked and he turned to look at her, red eyes surprisingly tired.

"And how can you live with a sparkmate who has done things like this willingly?" he retorted. "I don't think you understand. This is part of who I am."

"No," Mallory said flatly. "I don't think _you _understand." She wracked her brain, trying to come up with a way to make him understand how she felt and finally it fell on an idea. "Have you heard of a man named Adolph Hitler?" she asked softly.

"The name doesn't sound familiar," Barricade replied, the scene around them changing back to the ruined Iacon as he focused on what she was saying. "I haven't had much time to look over you human's history."

"Adolph Hitler was the leader of the Germans during World War II," Mallory explained. "He ordered thousands of people to die just because of religious beliefs or disabilities."

"What does this have to do with us?" Barricade retorted, red eyes searching Mallory's calm face.

"Hitler was a very charismatic speaker," Mallory said softly. "Do you know how many people followed him?"

"Probably hundreds," Barricade replied quietly.

"Very few believed in the vague rumors of horrors that reached them," Mallory said, her tone still whisper soft. "The ones that did could do nothing for fear that they would be tortured and then executed. How is that any different than what you went through?" She turned her back on him, shoulders shaking slightly with suppressed tears. Each breath was aching in her dream self's throat as Barricade considered her words. Then she relaxed completely, something inside her easing as he slipped his arms around her waist and didn't let go.

She woke up to a siren blaring and the howl of car alarms across the Holiday Inn parking lot. Suddenly cursing her sparkmate under her breath. Mallory dressed quickly, making herself look halfway presentable before throwing the rest of her things in a bag and darting into the reception area. The receptionist, a pretty blonde, was looking very much frazzled and her fingers shook as she attempted to check Mallory out. Ten minutes later she was handed a receipt and the girl said," Have a nice day and please don't _ever_ come back." Mallory was too annoyed with her sparkmate to reply as she darted out the door to slide into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut behind her. Instantly the whole parking lot went silent.

"Do you know what time it is?" Mallory asked coldly, staring angrily at the dash.

"Five in the morning," Barricade replied calmly. "When you told me to wake you up."

"I said six," Mallory snarled. "Do you hear me six?"

"Mallory darling," he began but she smacked the dash hard and he instantly silenced.

"Shut up," she growled, already working through her playlist in an attempt to calm herself. Finally she settled on "Gunpowder and Lead" and glared out the window in silence as the ground flew by.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Return of Starscream

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry _(It's gonna be interesting...that's for sure) and _Riptide2_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Sixteen- Return of Starscream<em>

Mallory and Barricade had almost made it to Tranquility when disaster struck. She should have expected it. If the Autobots were in Tranquility than naturally the Decepticons would be nearby but she never considered that. She was slightly startled when Barricade flung open his door and unceremoniously dumped Mallory and her duffle bag on the ground. He transformed quickly in front of her and that was when Mallory saw the plane. It was an F-22, the army's pride and joy. It also had a designation; Starscream. Mallory felt a shiver of fear as Starscream transformed and landed on the ground. "Hello Barricade," Starscream drawled. "Fancy seeing you here."

"What do you want Starscream?" Barricade asked sharply. "You never were one for idle talk unless it was to move things in your favor."

"The mighty Megatron wants to know if you have come to your senses and decided to return," Starscream said grudgingly.

"Megatron can go to Pit," Barricade snapped.

"That's what I told him you'd say," Starscream sneered. "In that case I have permission to terminate you."

"Bring it," Barricade retorted flatly.

The two mechs collided with the ringing sound of metal on metal and Mallory flinched, the sound unexpectedly bringing her back to the fight Barricade had accidentally shown her. She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to watch as terror made her heart pound. Her breath came in nervous gasps as she forced her eyes open after a moment in time to see the worst sigh of her life. "Good bye Barricade," Starscream sneered and then Mallory felt a fiery pain blaze in her chest. Barricade fell to the ground, optics offlining as Starscream transformed and took to the sky.

Mallory wanted to scream but she couldn't. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she stumbled to her feet, arms wrapped around her burning chest. She scrambled over to Barricade, a trembling hand touching his damaged armor. The armor on his chassis had been ripped beyond Mallory's skills to repair and his spark pulsed weakly in its chamber. Panicked tears dripped down Mallory's cheeks and she began to hyperventilate, gasping for breath. She shuddered and leaned against Barricade's still frame, trying to think clearly. It took her a few minutes but she finally came up with an idea.

She stumbled to her duffle bag, unzipping it and pulling out her laptop. Somehow it had survived being dumped to the ground and she prayed quietly under her breath as she powered it up. No internet connection. Mallory wrapped her arms tighter around her aching chest, barely holding in her sobs. That was when she noticed her phone lying on the ground a few feet away. She had almost forgotten that it had internet connection.

Miraculously it still worked somehow and she was able to post on the blog. As she waited for a response she cursed herself for not getting Mikaela's new number when her twin changed phone companies. Finally a response came through and Mallory tried to relax. Unable to calm down she finally stood up and began pacing, arms still wrapped around her chest. The cloud of dust on the horizon was a relief to her worried mind as Ratchet and Optimus arrived. Both transformed, Ratchet going immediately to check on her bond mate as Mallory filled Optimus in on everything she could remember. Fifteen minutes later she was dropped off at Sam's house to eat with Mikaela and Sam, a nervous wreck. It now went without saying that this was going to be a long night.


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Relief

Author's Note: Yes, two chapters typed in a row! I am on a roll with this story at least for a bit. Thanks to _Riptide2_ (Not quite yet) and _I am Blueberry_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Seventeen-Relief<em>

Mallory was pacing and there was nothing that Mikaela could do about it. Her twin had taken a painkiller an hour ago but Mikaela still saw Mallory hug her chest every once in a while as if it still pained her. The computer sat on the now spotless countertop, the light shining from it the only light still left on in the house. Mikaela stood at the top of the stairs silently staring at her pacing and nervous twin. She hadn't realized until this moment how deep the connection between Barricade and Mallory was. That was when her cell phone, held in her hand at the moment, pinged. Mallory jumped and looked up at the top of the stairs to see Mikaela. "Hey 'Kaela," she called up tiredly. Mikaela nodded and opened the text. What she saw made her grin.

"Hey Mal," she called.

"Yeah?" Mallory asked.

"Check the blog," Mikaela said. Instantly Mallory was refreshing the blog, leaning over the computer to read the post. Mikaela watched with a deep feeling of relief as Mallory's shoulders relaxed and her twin shut down the computer after a moment, yawning widely. "You going to bed?" Mikaela asked.

"Yeah," Mallory said, yawning widely as she snapped the laptop shut. "Good night Mikaela," she added as she stumbled tiredly past her twin and into her old bedroom.

"Night Mallory," Mikaela called with a tired grin before slipping off to sleep herself.

Mallory woke up the next morning when her phone said _"Let me out; I'm stuck in your pocket_" signaling she had a text. She groaned and pried her eyelids open before reality came crashing down. The events of the night before rushed into her mind like wildfire and she sat bolt upright, taking a moment to calm her pounding heart. Then she picked up her phone and stared blankly at the long string of numbers. When she opened the text it all clicked. _Barricade_. Are you okay?

Fine, Mallory texted back immediately. Staying with 'Kaela right now. Bee and Sam are coming to pick us up in about an hour. It was ten in the morning and everything was fine. Mallory slipped into the shower and when she came back there was another text message waiting for her. They texted back and forth until Mallory got the gist of what was going on. Barricade was worried that Starscream would show up again and try to hurt her. To tell the truth Mallory would feel better if she could see her sparkmate again so it was with great relief that she, Mikaela, Sam, and Bumblebee left the ground to take the, now quick thanks to new technology, flight to Diego Garcia.

When they landed Mallory felt the connection between her and Barricade snap back into alignment and everything balanced itself. "Follow me," Mikaela said, grabbing her twin's arm and leading her to the med bay.

"Oh good, you're here," Ratchet said, optics focused on Mallory. "Maybe you can convince him to shut up." He motioned toward the far end of the med bay but Mallory was already heading that direction before he had even finished his first sentence. Mikaela shrugged but decided to stay back and let Mallory take care of her sparkmate.

Barricade offered his hand to Mallory when she reached him, lifting her up and placing her on his shoulder. "What were you thinking?" Mallory asked him fiercely, her voice soft.

"I was making sure you were safe," Barricade replied in an equally soft tone. "Starscream would have killed both of us if I didn't do what I did."

"You scared me half to death. I thought I had lost you," Mallory whispered, swiping her hand across her face in an attempt to wash away the tears that were dripping down her cheeks. "Promise me you'll never do that again."

"I'll do what I need to keep you safe," Barricade said. "I love you Mallory. I'm not going to see you hurt." It wasn't a promise but it was the best Mallory was going to get under the circumstances.

"Fine," she sniffed. "Let me down please. I need to catch up with Mikaela and you need to do what Ratchet says so you can get out of here before he adds a couple dents to your helm." Barricade chuckled and put her down, watching her as until she vanished from sight.


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Revenge

Author's Note: Thanks to _Riptide2_ and _I am Blueberry_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory. Also there will be no upload to The Connection until the next chapter because it would give things away.

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><p><em>Chapter Eighteen-Revenge <em>

Once Barricade was fully recovered a week later Mallory, Mikaela, Sam, and Barricade put their plan of revenge on Sideswipe. It was a clever plan and thanks to Leo and an Australian woman named Maggie Madsen they would have video proof of it. It started with Mallory and a bucket of lavender paint. It was the perfect shade of pale, sunrise purple with primer mixed in so it would cover up his paint. Mallory rigged it from the ceiling of an abandoned hanger with the help of Mikaela so that when the door was shoved open it would dump. This was only the beginning. Barricade had helped set up the rest with Sam and Bumblebee.

It was going to be perfect. Now to get Sideswipe to walk into their trap. That took the help of Skids and Mudflap. They were probably the most annoying creatures known to man so naturally it wasn't hard for them to annoy Sideswipe into chasing after them. Now all they had to do was hide around the back of the hanger. Surprisingly it worked. The paint fell and Barricade and Bumblebee's part of the prank kicked in almost immediately.

In the end Sideswipe stumbled out in the most horrendous shade of fuchsia mixed with sunset violet. Mallory's stomach muscles hurt from laughing so hard and Mikaela's face was bright red. Sam looked insanely happy and Barricade ridiculously pleased with himself. The only one able to keep a poker face for any amount of time was Bumblebee and he eventually caved too with his staticky sounding laugh. The other Autobots looked on in various states of disbelief as the pranking group laughed hysterically, Mallory and Mikaela leaning against each other for support.

The final week Mallory and Mikaela shared they did everything to could together. They returned to Tranquility and visited all their old haunts. Mikaela's old friends had abandoned her but neither one cared. They went back to telling each other everything and counting off the days until their birthday together but silently the thought of Mallory returning to Aunt Alisa's home hung behind them like a menacing shadow. Then the long awaited day arrived. It started with Mallory's alarm.

Daughtry's _Life After You_ played from her phone, waking her at seven in the morning, and she shut it off immediately. A wave of melancholy had washed over her as a result from the song, a song she only played if she was depressed. She pushed that thought away quickly, showering and dressing nicely before climbing down the stairs to the kitchen. There was a piece of paper lying on the kitchen counter when Mallory put a bagel in the toaster with Mikaela's familiar handwriting on it. _"Gone to Sam's. Meet me there when you wake up. Hugs and Kisses, 'Kaela."_ The note wasn't all that unusual so Mallory didn't think much about it as she sat down to eat her breakfast.

Barricade willingly took her to Sam's house and she knocked on the door. When no one answered she ducked inside only to almost run into Judy Witwicky. "Hello dear," Sam's mother said with a cheerful smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Mikaela left me a note…" Mallory said, trailing off when Judy shot her a blank look. "Is she here?" Mal asked weakly.

"No dear. I haven't seen her since earlier this morning when she came here looking for Sam," Judy replied.

"All right then. I'll head back home and see if I can get a hold of her. Thanks Mrs. Witwicky," Mallory said with a slightly confused smile as she stepped out the door with a wave. Outside she was even more shocked to find out that Barricade was gone. "Where has that slagger gotten to?" she hissed under her breath.

"Oh, do you need a ride dear?" Judy asked, peering out to where Mallory was standing on the front step.

"No thank you Mrs. Witwicky," Mallory said. "I'm sure he'll be back in a minute." Mallory had been warned a long time ago about Judy Witwicky's driving antics and she intended to heed that warning.

"Call me Judy dear and just holler if you change your mind," Judy said before vanishing deeper into the house. Mallory sighed and sat down on the front step, pulling out her phone to call Mikaela. What had started out as a promising day was turning into a disaster.

"Hey 'Kaela," Mallory said when her twin picked up. "I'm at Sam's and I've been abandoned. Would you mind picking me up?"

"Oh I'm so sorry," Mikaela said sounding absolutely horrified at the thought of her twin being left alone. "I'll come get you on my scooter right away and we'll go to the lake to make up for it. Sound good?"

"Perfect," Mallory replied, feeling much happier. She leaned back against the wall of the house, prepared to wait and hoping the day would take a turn for the better now that Mikaela was coming.


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Surprise!

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ who reviewed the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Nineteen-Surprise!<em>

Twenty minutes of waiting later Mikaela showed up at the Witwicky house looking upset. "I'm so sorry," she apologized again. "I was out looking for Sam when you called and that's why it took me so long."

"No problem," Mallory said, working up a smile. The two rode to the lake in silence, each caught up in their respective thoughts. That was when they got the surprise of their lives.

"Happy Birthday!" Sam called hurrying over to them when Mikaela parked the scooter. Mikaela let out a yelp of surprise and flung her arms around her boyfriend while Mallory giggled. Barricade's holoform caught her around the waist and spun her around before he kissed her.

"Happy birthday angel," he whispered when they pulled apart and Mallory grinned, hugging him tightly. Mikaela grinned at her, still looking slightly stunned.

"Happy birthday girls," Maggie Madsen, a technical worker at NEST who was also Mikaela's friend said after Mallory and Barricade pulled apart, hugging each of the girls in turn. The rest of the afternoon passed in a whirl of laughter and delight as Mallory and Mikaela celebrated their birthday as they would have when their mother was still alive. The only downer was when Trent showed up but Barricade quickly remedied that. Needless to say Trent was rather surprised to find someone's fist breaking his nose after he said something nasty to Mallory. Mallory and Mikaela were too busy cracking up to speak after that.

Somehow Barricade and Jazz tossed Ratchet's holoform in the lake. Everyone but the medic himself thought it was funny and Jazz and Barricade stayed out of Ratchet's way for the next couple of hours until he calmed down. All in all it was the best day Mallory had experienced in a very long time. Barricade texted Mallory early the next morning and she said a sleepy good-bye to Mikaela, leaving her twin a note in case she didn't remember what had happened later, and fell back asleep as soon as Barricade pulled out of the driveway.

She slept soundly, dreaming of nothing, until Barricade woke her at a rest stop at just after two o'clock in the afternoon. "Huh?" she mumbled, blinking and slowly sitting up.

"It's time to wake up," Barricade replied, his holoform nudging her and grinning.

"Ok," Mallory replied, sitting up slowly and stretching. The door slipped open the instant she touched it and she stepped out, taking her laptop bag with her. She went to the restroom and ordered McDonalds , taking her food outside to eat and enjoy the sunshine. She flipped her computer open and powered it up, posting on The Connection. She finished her food, washed her hands, powered down the laptop, and settled back down for the ride. They didn't bother to stop at a hotel and Mallory slept through the night, trusting Barricade to keep her safe.

They arrived at Aunt Alisa's house late the next afternoon. "Happy late birthday," Aunt Alisa said when Mallory entered the house, hugging her niece. "Have you read your letter yet?"

"What letter?" Mallory asked, her face crinkled in confusion.

"The one I gave you before you left," Aunt Alisa said. It took a moment but realization dawned on Mallory's face and she pulled it out of the side pocket of her bag. She opened it carefully and began to read, her brow furrow and then clearing as realization dawned on her.

"I got accepted," she breathed. "I got accepted," she whooped again as the realization dawned on her and she hugged Aunt Alisa with and excited squeal, darting up the steps to her room. This was definitely going on the blog for all to see. This week just kept getting better and better.


	20. Chapter Twenty: Last Weeks of Freedom

Author's Note: Thanks to _I am Blueberry_ (Glad it flowed well! And sorry for the confusion. I forgot to put it in the last chapter) and _Riptide2_ (No kidding will they need to run!) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing but Mallory. Also check out _I am Blueberry's _story featuring Mallory titled Double the Trouble!

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><p><em>Chapter Twenty- Last Weeks of Freedom<em>

Mallory set up herself to thoroughly enjoy her last weeks of freedom before she needed to leave to attend college in Chicago. Somewhere in that time her relationship with Barricade grew into something more serious than it had been. The teasing reached a new level as they learned more things about each other. For example Mallory teased him for a week because he accidentally ran over the blind "voice activated" kitten on the way home from one of her vocal lessons; partly because he felt so terrible about it.

That was also the day Mal's vocal teacher handed her a flier for a community idol. Mallory decided to give it a try on a whim two days before it actually started and signed up, putting down the name of a song she had sang a hundred times before. Standing on the stage the day of she suddenly wasn't too sure about doing this. Then the music started and there was no backing out. "_You're not sure that you love me but you're not sure enough to let me go. Baby it ain't fair you know to just me hanging round. You say you don't wanna hurt me, don't wanna see my tears, so why are you still standing here just a watching me drown?"_

She finally glanced out at the audience as she moved to the chorus. "_And it's all right; yeah I'll be fine. Don't worry about this heart of mine just take your love and hit the road. There's nothing you can do or say; you're gonna break my heart anyway so just leave the pieces when you go."_

"_Now you can drag out the heartache or Baby you can make it quick. Really get it over with and just let me move on. Don't concern yourself with this mess you left with me. I can clean it up you see just as long as you're gone. And it's all right; yeah I'll be fine. Don't worry about this heart of mine just take your love and hit the road. There's nothing you can do or say; you're gonna break my heart anyway so just leave the pieces when you go."_

"_You not making up your mind is killing me and wasting time. I need so much more than that. And it's all right; yeah I'll be fine. Don't worry about this heart of mine just take your love and hit the road. There's nothing you can do or say; you're gonna break my heart anyway so just leave the pieces when you go."_

She finished and stared in astonishment as the crowd exploded in applause. When they announced the finalists she was even more stunned when she made the list. Now she had absolutely no idea what to sing. She listened to so much music that a song was constantly running through her mind and she actually succeeded in annoying Barricade half to death. Her dreams twisted in odd directions with a variety of songs and Barricade finally decided to pull her out of her own dreams in the last few days before the next performance.

Between getting ready for college and the competition Barricade was sure they would both be out of their minds before they even got to Chicago. Mallory was beginning to think he was right. The police car mimic decided to come and be Mallory's moral support. He got a little more than he bargained for when the song started and she smirked straight in his direction.

"_You'd better take it from me; that boy is like a disease. You're runnin', you're tryin', you're tryin' to hide and wonderin' why you can't get free. He's like a curse; he's like a drug. You get addicted to his love. You wanna get out but he's holdin' you down 'cause you can't live without one more touch. He's a good time cowboy casanova leaning up against the record machine. He looks like a cool drink of water but he's candy coated misery. He's a devil in disguise, a snake with blue eyes and he only comes out at night. Give's you feelings that you don't wanna fight; you'd better run for your life."_

"Oh good grief," Barricade grumbled as Mallory slid through the song, somehow still smirking the whole time anyway. Behind the irritation though was amusement that he hadn't seen this coming after how much he had bothered her about the music.

"_I see that look on your face. You ain't hearin' what I say. So I'll say it again 'cause I know where you've been and I know how it ends. You can't get away. Don't even look in his eyes; he'll tell you nothing but lies and you wanna believe but you won't be deceived if you listen to me and take my advice. He's a good time cowboy casanova leaning up against the record machine. He looks like a cool drink of water but he's candy coated misery. He's a devil in disguise, a snake with blue eyes and he only comes out at night. Give's you feelings that you don't wanna fight; you'd better run for your life."_

Mallory was struggling not to laugh as she pushed on with the song, guessing from the emotions she was getting through the link between her and 'Cade that her sparkmate wasn't exactly pleased with her choice of song. Still it served him right after all the times he had switched the radio while she was searching for the perfect song.

"_Run, run away. Don't let him mess with your mind. He'll tell you anything you want to hear. He'll break your heart; it's just a matter of time. But just remember. He's a good time cowboy casanova leaning up against the record machine. He looks like a cool drink of water but he's candy coated misery. He's a devil in disguise, a snake with blue eyes and he only comes out at night. Give's you feelings that you don't wanna fight; you'd better run for your life. Oh you'd better run for your life. Yeah you'd better run for your life."_

Mallory was still smirking as she slipped off stage and joined her sparkmate. "What'd you think?" she asked, unable to hide a grin.

"Very funny," he said and Mallory yelped as he slipped her into a headlock, ruffling her dark curls.

"Let go of me," she grumbled, trying to squirm away without much luck as he snickered. "Cade," she whined and he finally released her so that she was frantically fixing her hair when they announced she had placed in third. A wide grin slipped on her face as she took her place on stage with another girl and the boy who had placed first, grinning widely for the newspaper camera woman. That night she collapsed in bed, exhausted. She knew tomorrow wouldn't be much better though. She only had two more days before she had to leave for Chicago.


	21. Chapter TwentyOne:Welcome to Windy City

Author's Note: Thanks to _Riptide2_ (Yup! I couldn't resist ;D) for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Twenty-One-Welcome to the Windy City<em>

Mallory's first week in Chicago was spent making her apartment look like a home instead of a storage unit with boxes stacked everywhere, getting used to her classes, and actually being able to find her way around Chicago. Despite the chaos she found Chicago to her liking, even though her neighbors probably thought she was crazy because some mornings Barricade decided to act as her alarm clock and she ended up yelling at a police car out her window. It was late September when things finally calmed down enough that she could relax and post again on The Connection, the first time since she moved to Chicago. It was nice to return to normalcy for a little while. Unfortunately it wouldn't last.

Mal was studying to be a forensic artist. She was sitting in her evening class on a Friday night when it happened. The room was hot, unbearably so because the heater was broke and working overdrive. As she worked on her computer reconstructions a bead of sweat dripped down her back. Her vision blurred and she blinked, trying to focus on the image before her. That was when the vision hit her full force.

She came to with a girl named Kelly leaning over. "Are you okay?" Kelly asked nervously. "You just kind of keeled over and hit the floor all of a sudden."

"I'm fine," Mal said, severely shaken by what she had seen. "I think it's the heat."

"Are you sure Miss Banes?" the teacher, Professor Davidson, asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah," Mal said, forcing a smile. "I'm fine."

"Class dismissed," the professor said. "I don't need any of the rest of you passing out because of heat." Mallory left the class with Kelly as other students chattered around her about meaningless things.

"Are you going to be able to get to your apartment by yourself?" Kelly asked, her face radiating concern. Kelly was pretty with honey colored curls framing and earnest heart shaped face and featuring hazel eyes.

"I'll be fine Kelly," Mal replied with a gentle smile. "My boyfriend will be here in a couple minutes to pick me up anyway."

"If you need anything at all call me," Kelly ordered and then headed for her tiny green compact car parked in the slim student parking lot.

"Will do," Mallory called after the friendly girl. In truth she had no intention of waiting for Barricade. She didn't want to tell him what she'd just seen. As soon as Kelly was out of sight she turned and began walking to her apartment. Barricade passed her when she was almost home and was forced to go around the block to head back. By then Mallory was already in the apartment.

"Are you okay?" Barricade asked, slipping into the kitchen in holoform and eyeing his sparkmate warily.

"Fine," Mallory retorted as she pulled a white coffee cup from a shelf in the kitchen. Her fingers were shaking slightly as she tried to push what she had just seen from her mind and her mouth was dry.

"You're not that great of a liar Mal," Barricade told her, his expression worried.

"I-I," Mal began. "I just…" That was when the cup fell from her hand and the cheap clay shattered on the fake tile of the kitchen floor. Normally it would have been nothing but today had been a particularly stressful day and Mal promptly burst into tears.

"Mal," Barricade said helplessly but she had already fled, slamming her bedroom door shut, collapsing on her bed and sobbing helplessly. Eventually she cried herself empty and drifted off the sleep; a mistake if there ever was one.

_She was standing on the concrete sidewalk of a cordoned off street. A large mech looking very much like Optimus but with a slightly different color scheme stood there, the same as last time. Everyone else was in the same position as she had last seen it too. "I'm sorry but it's time to put you out of commission," the unfamiliar mech said to Ironhide just as last time, powering up a weapon she didn't recognize._

"_No," she heard someone yell behind her. Then a copy of her that wasn't her exactly, too grim and expressionless, nodded at Barricade and he launched himself at Ironhide, pushing the ancient mech out of the way. The shot hit him straight in the spark chamber and he fell. Mallory screamed then, both her and the copy, but while the real Mal could only stand and stare in horror the other one collapsed to her knees clutching her chest as angry tears streamed down her face._

When Mallory joined Barricade in the dreamscape she was gasping. Her hair was sticking to the back of her neck and she knew her eyes were wide with horror. "What's wrong?" Barricade asked, taking two long strides over to her. Mallory collapsed into his arms, sobbing with terror. She couldn't force herself to tell him what she'd seen so she pushed the images into his mind. He stiffened and held her tighter. They stayed that way until it was time for Mallory to wake and face the day. Meanwhile the storm loomed on the horizon and there was nothing Mallory or anyone else could do to stop it.


	22. Chapter TwentyTwo: Facing The Truth

Author's Note: Before I begin this chapter I want to tell you all that this is probably the darkest part of this story. I ask you to keep in mind that I have no intention of killing anyone except Sentinel and maybe a few Decepticons. Make of that what you will. Thanks to _Sharta_, _Riptide2_, and _3xX-BO__TDF-Xx3_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory. The song lyrics are Adele's "Rolling In The Deep"

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><p><em>Chapter Twenty-Two- Facing The Truth<em>

Mallory made it through the next few days by convincing herself that what she had seen wasn't real. That was when Mikaela texted her and told her that she, Sam, and the Autobots were coming to Chicago. Mallory paced that whole day, feeling as if she were a trapped bird in a cage. Her vision kept coming every time she closed her eyes. There were two versions of it. In the first Ironhide died and in the second one Barricade did. The two pictures haunted her until the end of the school day and followed her back to the apartment. "Something's wrong again," Barricade said, shutting the apartment door behind them. "And worse than before."

"Kaela texted to say that the Autobots are coming to Chicago to pick up and repair one of their own," Mallory said. "It's coming true."

"Why don't you just tell them what you saw?" Barricade challenged her as she dumped her book bag on the floor by the kitchen table.

"You want to know what happened the last time I told someone what I saw?" Mal challenged, her eyes bright with anger. "Do you really want to know? She didn't believe me. She thought I was just joking so she dragged me down to the road in the middle of the night in her pajamas just to prove I was wrong. A car came around the corner and hit her head on. I called 9-1-1 but she died before they could get her to the hospital just like I saw."

"How do you know that this time won't be different?" Barricade asked as she filled a pot with water and set it with a clang on the stove, trying to control her shaking fingers.

"Because I can control my visions and alter them subtly if I chose to do so," Mallory replied, dumping penne pasta into the water after she had brought it up to a boil. "They don't believe me if I tell them until it's too late. Any way I still try someone dies."

"I've seen both versions," Barricade said after a moment as she stirred the water. "And you're not going to like my opinion." His emotions coming through the bond were wary and sad.

"Tell me," Mallory ordered as she pulled a plastic container of left over spaghetti sauce she had put in the refrigerator this morning and dumped it into another pan.

"I know who they're bringing back. His name is Sentinel Prime and my guess is that Megatron convinced him it was better for Cybertron to side with the Decepticons," Barricade explained. "I also know which death will damage the Autobots' ability to react fast enough and it isn't mine."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Mallory admitted, fighting back tears. She worked silently for a few minutes before continuing. "If you're really going to do this then we'll have to be ready." She flipped off the over and glanced at the food, not sure she was hungry anymore.

She turned around, her vision going blurry with tears, and Barricade held her tight. "I love you Mal," he whispered.

"I love you too," she replied, knowing that this was probably the last time they'd be together. They spent that night together, not saying anything, simply basking in the presence of the other. That night Mallory's dreams twisted in an odd pattern, showing a thousand different possibilities, none of which she let herself believe for a moment.

The next morning she didn't have any classes but Mikaela and the Autobots would be at their temporary base in Chicago. They made it there just in time. Mallory recognized the new 'Bot that Barricade had named Sentinel Prime standing there. "You were right in one sense," he rumbled as Barricade transformed softly and Mallory watched for the signs she had seen in her vision. "The Decepticons were looking for me but not for the reason you suspected." Everyone else stared uncomprehendingly as he brought out his weapons and turned to Ironhide. "Time to put you out of commission soldier." That was when Barricade glanced at Mallory. She nodded, her expression dark. He made it just in time.

Barricade hit Ironhide hard, catching the weapons specialist off guard. The blast struck him square in the spark chamber and he collapsed, crashing to the ground like trash. Mallory chest burned like someone had set her on fire from the inside out as stunned optics turned to her offlined sparkmate and Ironhide fired. With tears pouring down her cheeks she could barely see that Ironhide's blast had struck home and Sentinel was falling to the ground, offline as well.

_There's a fire starting in my heart  
>Reaching a fever pitch, it's bringing me out the dark<br>Finally I can see you crystal clear  
>Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare<br>See how I'll leave with every piece of you  
>Don't underestimate the things that I will do<em>

_There's a fire starting in my heart  
>Reaching a fever pitch<br>And it's bringing me out the dark_

The traitorous Autobot's last action was to shift and fire at Optimus. Somehow Sideswipe was there though and pushing his leader out of the way so that the blast both missed them. Then Mikaela was running to Mallory's side, hugging her sister tight as Mal struggled to breathe.

_The scars of your love remind me of us  
>They keep me thinking that we almost had it all<br>The scars of your love, they leave me breathless  
>I can't help feeling<br>We could have had it all  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me)<br>Rolling in the deep  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)<br>You had my heart inside of your hand  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me)<br>And you played it to the beat  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)<em>

"Mal? Mal!" Mikaela squeaked, her voice seeming to come from far away as Mallory struggled to breath. Sam was looking concerned too but Mallory couldn't work up the energy to care. "Mal?" Mallory ignored her twin's panicked cries, working up the energy to say one last thing before she passed out.

_Baby, I have no story to be told  
>But I've heard one on you<br>And I'm gonna make your head burn  
>Think of me in the depths of your despair<br>Make a home down there  
>As mine sure won't be shared<em>

"Kill them. Kill them all before they kill you," Mallory gasped out, black filling her vision and a strange rushing sound filling her ears before she passed out. Mikaela was full out panicking now. She cradled her twin in her arms as soldiers rushed everywhere.

_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)  
>The scars of your love remind me of us<br>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)  
>They keep me thinking that we almost had it all<br>(You're gonna wish you never had met me)  
>The scars of your love, they leave me breathless<br>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)  
>I can't help feeling<br>We could have had it all  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me)<br>Rolling in the deep  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)<br>You had my heart inside of your hand  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me)<br>And you played it to the beat  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)<br>Could have had it all  
>Rolling in the deep<br>You had my heart inside of your hand  
>But you played it with a beating<em>

"Get Ratchet or somebody," Mikaela ordered Sam and he nodded, pushing his way through the crowd of people trying to figure out what was going on. "Hang on Mal. You have to stay with me, please. Even if it is for selfish reasons," Mikaela told her twin.

_Throw your soul through every open door  
>Count your blessings to find what you look for<br>Turn my sorrow into treasured gold  
>You'll pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow<em>

Ratchet's holoform knelt next to Mallory's still body, feeling her pulse. "Can't you do anything?" Mikaela begged.

"She just lost her sparkmate Mikaela," Ratchet said. "I can't do anything for her. She has to decided to come back and even if she does-" He cut himself off immediately and Mikaela felt worry hit her hard in the stomach.

"What?" she demanded as Sam took her hand and squeezed it. "What were you going to say?"

"That even if she does come back I'm not sure how long she'll stay around," Ratchet admitted reluctantly.

_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)  
>We could have had it all<br>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)  
>We could have had it all<br>(You're gonna wish you never had met me)  
>It all, it all, it all<br>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)_

Ratchet let his holoform fade and stood. They had lost a good friend today, Mikaela had quite possibly lost her sister, and they had almost lost far more than that. It hurt him not only to have failed as a medic but as a friend to help them as he moved to work on Sideswipe. Sentinel's blast had nicked him and Ratchet need something he could actually do.

_We could have had it all  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me)<br>Rolling in the deep  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)<br>You had my heart inside of your hand  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me)<br>And you played it to the beat  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)<em>

That was when they all got a message. There was a new update on The Connection. "How?" Sideswipe managed to get out.

"Timed message," Mikaela replied, glancing at her twin before going to blog and reading just as everyone else was.

_We could have had it all  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me)<br>Rolling in the deep  
>(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)<br>You had my heart inside of your hand  
>(You're gonna wish you never had met me)<em>

They saw it's always the darkest before dawn but right then all of them felt that dawn might never come again.

_But you played it  
>You played it<br>You played it  
>You played it to the beat.<em>


	23. Chapter TwentyThree: Wind Storms

Author's Note: Thanks to _Riptide2_ (I do have something planned and you might be able to guess it by the end of the chapter), _shadowhaseo_ (Unfortunately because I couldn't make the story flow without that particular event), _Sharta_ (*throws rabid bunny back*. It kept attacking my other plot bunnies until I wrote this ;D), and _I am Blueberry_ (Although I'm sorry you cried through the entire chapter it is gratifying to know I wrote the scene well) for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory

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><p><em>Chapter Twenty-Three: Wind Storms<em>

Mallory woke up in a dark room. After what felt like days, but according to her cell phone had only been hours, of strange dreams it felt odd to be in the real world again. To decide to be alive again. Her chest ached as if it were a hollow thing. It felt as if someone had torn all her insides out and sewn her back together again without any pain killers. A flicker of images flashed across the backs of her eyelids when she closed them and she knew instantly what had woken her. Mikaela needed her.

There was one unwritten word that existed between Mallory and the rest of the world. People could make fun of her for her ability with a gun and tomboyish looks. They could tease her for her fits. They could call her jail bait because of her father. But they couldn't hurt Mikaela. Hurt 'Kaela and you got payback twice as bad as what you'd given out courtesy of Mal. Once when a girl named Michelle had stuck frog guts in 'Kaela's phone Mal had shattered her. When Michelle had attempted to punch 'Kaela, Mal had slapped her. Three days later Michelle had moved. That very day the unwritten rule had been born.

Mallory stood and pulled her hair into a sloppy ponytail, stuffing her feet into her tennis shoes. She was wearing her clothes from earlier that day and she felt grimy but she didn't care. She walked calmly out of the room as if she hadn't a care in the world. As soon as she stepped out she realized she had been in the tiny spare bedroom of her apartment. She headed straight for the kitchen. In the drawer underneath the refrigerator, which was larger than necessary, was a rifle. There was a box of bullets hidden behind the coffee cups.

Mallory withdrew the weapon and the box of bullets, heading for her room. On the way across the kitchen floor she noticed the curtains were shut. She put down her things and pulled the curtains back. All she could do then was stare and blink as if she was seeing things. She pinched herself. No, this definitely was happening. She was awake.

Chicago was a mess. There were cars thrown aside as if a giant had been playing with them a telephone wires sparking. The building across the street had a massive hole in it. It was almost worse than her vision. Slowly she picked up the gun and box of bullets, heading for her room again. She snatched up her old black backpack and dumped the box of bullets into it after loading the gun. Then she slipped her apartment key into her pocket and headed out the door.

She walked briskly down the cracked sidewalk, eyes fixed squarely ahead. She knew exactly where Mikaela was thanks to an incredibly detailed vision and a good knowledge of Chicago thanks to Barricade's explorations and so called "shortcuts" that had taken them far from where they needed to be. She took a left and then a right, then another right, before coming out in what looked like the center of a disaster area. Mallory carefully picked her way through the wreckage, heading to where she knew Mikaela was standing.

She climbed over the last chunk of concrete that had been tossed aside and jumped down to land next to Mikaela. Her twin jumped three feet in the air and let out a yelp that made Jazz spin awkwardly. "Mal," Mikaela gasped, holding her hand to her heaving chest in a teasing drama queen action. "You scared me half to death."

"I'm not apologizing for that," Mallory replied. "We should move. The others will be in trouble now if they haven't already found trouble."

"Lead on," Mikaela replied with the hint of a smile. Mallory nodded, cradling the gun in one arm, and took off at a jog. Her feet smacked against the uneven road in a steady pattern, sending vibrations up her legs to offset the heavy thudding of her hunk of muscle heart. She rounded a corner and then jerked to a stop, flinging her arms up to cover her head. The blaze and backwash from a stray blast flew around her, smacking her square on her arms that shielded her face.

"Take this," Mal said, handing the shotgun and backpack to Mikaela. "Do you know how to use it?"

"Mostly," Mikaela replied. "What are you going to do?"

"Change the battle in our favor," Mal replied with a wicked smile. Then she vanished along the line of houses. She leaned there, closing her eyes. She slowly filtered out the other noise and listened, really listened. Last night when she had typed that the wind wasn't something to control she realized something. She couldn't control it, but she could listen to and direct it. So she listened. She felt it sink through her ears and deep into her bones, a low roaring that consumed everything else. The wind in Chicago was angry, very angry, and ready to get rid of those that destroyed its home.

Mal opened her eyes, feeling as if her world had temporarily steadied. She could still feel the loss of Barricade, a deep ache in her chest, but the wind seemed to whisper to the hollow, to say, "All is not lost." Mallory believed the air because denying it would be like denying that she herself existed. It couldn't be done.

Mallory Nicole Banes didn't exist any longer. Neither did the wind. They one in ways no one could truly understand and no one ever would. Mallory also knew that after today they would never be one again. The wind was hers only now and after that it would return to be its own. A debt to her mother would have been paid.

Mallory's steps were surprisingly steady as they headed for the bridge. With the wind echoing in her ears she couldn't hear that the sounds of battle were dying down; that those who were left were staring at the college girl with wind twining around in her hair. She turned a corner and walked calmly on to the bridge, her head held high. There she saw him, black and cold and cruel as a winter storm to a person trapped out in the cold. "Your war is done," she said, and when she spoke it sounded like a thousand voices twined into one. "Or rather, undone." And then, with a deep breath, she let it out.

The wind blew out of her like an angry, dark cloud, whooshing through the sky like an arrow from the heavens and striking Megatron square in the chest. It sucked and pulled, hissing around him in a freezing torrent as it sucked the very life from his spark. It flickered, died, and then crumbled to a piece of ash as Mallory collapsed, just Mallory Nicole Banes again, utterly spent on the ground. Her eyes drifted slowly closed and the last thing she saw in the world was a small shard glowing with a single blue glyph drop from a crack in Megatron's claws. Then her eyes drifted completely closed and her body pulled her into a dreamless sleep as surrendered to it complete. The wind sighed in a soft, satisfied voice forever, a voice Mallory would treasure in her heart for the rest of her life though she would no longer be able to understand the wind. She drifted away in the soft, dark arms of mother sleep and did not wake for a long time.


	24. Chapter TwentyFour: The Waiting Game

Author's Note: Thanks to _shadowhaseo_ (that should be clear in this chapter), _Sharta_, _jmqe_, _sieluvstf_, and _I am Blueberry_ for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but Mallory and Sarah Heartland

* * *

><p><em>Chapter Twenty-Four: The Waiting Game<em>

"Hey," a gentle voice said, pulling Mallory out of unconsciousness. "Are you okay?" Mal opened her eyes to see a woman in her mid twenties leaning over her. The woman was pretty with blonde hair and baby blue eyes that were bright with concern.

"I think so," Mal croaked out, sitting up slowly. Instantly her head began to spin and she moaned under her breath. Then she saw a flash of blue in the corner of her vision. She turned her head slowly, trying to shake the vertigo, but all she could manage to see that blue. "What's that?" she asked.

"I don't know," the woman said. "You stay here. I'll get it." Mal watched the woman walk toward the massive, dead frame of Megatron, the only sign of worry being the hand on her gun which was strapped on a police issue gun belt. Though she was in sweat pants and a baggy T-shirt Mal guessed that she was a cop. The woman picked up the glittery blue thing and brought it over to Mallory. "Here you go," she said. "Do you have any idea about what it is?"

"I have a few," Mallory admitted. "But knowing what I know none of them seem possible."

"You know about these… beings?" the woman questioned and Mallory shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess so," she replied.

"I'm sorry," the woman apologized. "I'm bother you aren't I? My name is Sarah, Sarah Heartland. I'm a night beat cop here in Chicago."

"I'm Mallory Banes," Mal replied. "I'm a college student here at the Art Institute."

"Sounds like fun," Sarah replied with a chipper smile. "Do you feel like standing up Mallory?"

"Yes," Mal replied instantly and Sarah offered her a hand. Mallory accepted the help and was glad to lean on Sarah once she was standing until the spinning stopped. "I need to find someone. Are you willing to help me?"

"Sure," Sarah replied without hesitation. "My partner Danielle has everything handled right now anyway." She tilted her head toward a woman with a hint of grey hair mixed in with the brown and serious eyes. She gave Danielle a wave and stayed at Mal's side as she headed for where she had last seen Mikaela.

Sure enough Mikaela was waiting for her twin just about right where Mal had left her. Instantly Mallory found herself almost tackled by her twin. "Be careful," Sarah warned. "She was passed out when I found her and she isn't exactly stable."

"Thank you for bringing her here," Mikaela told Sarah with a brilliant, relieved smile.

"Not a problem," Sarah Heartland replied and left without another word, a slim smile the only sign of her delight.

"How are you?" Mikaela asked the instant Sarah was out of sight, dragging Mal after her.

"Fine," Mallory replied. "And I have something to show you."

"What?" Mikaela asked, pausing and turning to face her twin.

"This," Mallory replied, holding out the glimmer blue shard of stone.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"I think so," Mallory replied.

"Whoa," another voice called as Sam hurried over to join them. "Is that an All Spark shard?"

"I think so," Mallory said again, repeating herself with good humor. The three teens exchanged glances, the same thought hitting them all at the same time. Barricade might not be quite as far gone as they had thought.

"RATCHET!"


	25. Chapter TwentyFive: Nonexistent

Author's Note: Last Chapter All! The next story will be started either tomorrow or Saturday and it will be called "What The Government Doesn't Tell You". There will be a teaser/summary at the bottom. Thanks to _shadowhaseo_, _Sharta_, and _Riptide2_ for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing but Sarah and Mallory. The post for The Connection will be posted after this

* * *

><p><em>Chapter Twenty-Five: Nonexistent<em>

Now that Ratchet had the small All Spark shard all Mallory could do was wait. After almost a day and a half of pacing she finally decided she would see if she could track down Sarah Heartland. She arrived at the town precinct, which was somehow still standing and actually open. "Can I help you?" a young woman with an abundance of brown hair asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for a Sarah Heartland who said she worked here with her partner Danielle. She helped save my life and I want to thank her," Mallory replied.

"I'm sorry but there isn't any Sarah Heartland that works here," the woman replied with a confused look on her face. "There is a Danielle, Danielle Johnson, that works here though but her partner is a man named Ian."

"Are you sure?" Mallory asked, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach. What if Sarah had been a Decepticon spy and had brought news of the All Spark shard to the 'Cons.

"Pretty sure," the woman replied. "What did this Sarah look like though?"

"Blonde hair, baby blue eyes, maybe in her mid to early twenties," Mallory replied.

"That sounds like Hayley," the woman replied. "Hey Danielle," she yelled over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Danielle called back.

"Was Hayley out in town with you yesterday?" the woman asked as she typed rapidly on her computer.

"Yeah," Danielle yelled back and ducked back into her office.

"Is this her?" the secretary asked Mallory. One look at the face and Mal knew it was the same woman who had helped her the day before. When Mallory nodded the woman wrote down Hayley's address on a sticky note. Mal thanked her and made her way down the twisting and wrecked streets of Chicago in search of Hayley. She was amused and more than a little worried to find that the address Hayley had given was a set of abandoned apartments. Disheartened and worried, Mallory was returning to where the Autobots were currently stationed when she felt it; a glimmer of feeling over the bond. A second later a wash of emotions rushed over her like a fire, blazing through her and making her feel wild and alive.

_Illuminating lights under my skin _

_Radiation so intoxicating burning within _

_Feel the heat slowly rising _

_The beat that's hypnotizing _

_A wonder can you feel it_

Barricade was back. Mallory sprinted across cracked sidewalks and past overturned cars, a wild smile stretching over her face.

_Fire that's so contagious _

_It's taking over me _

_And you can't stop it_

"Mikaela," Mallory yelled and her twin jumped nearly three feet in the air. One look at her twin's wide smile told her everything she needed to know.

"He did it?"

"Yes," Mallory breathed unable to stop the joy from reaching her face.

_Oh, oh Turn the lights down so we can Glow, glow_

_Watch us come alive _

_Were gonna show you something real_

_Like a city on a hill _

_Oh, oh Were gonna glow_

"Oh I almost forgot," Mallory said suddenly. "The girl that came with you the other day told me to give you this." She handed over a sealed envelope which Mallory took warily.

_They see us coming from miles away _

_There's no hiding, no denying, cause were not ashamed _

_With our hands up in the air _

_Boys and girls they start to stare _

_It's a wonder, can you feel it_

The writing on the note was neat and rather loopy but that didn't catch Mallory's attention. What made her interested was what it said on the inside.

Dear Mallory Banes, You have undoubtedly been told by now that my real name is not Sarah Heartland nor has Sarah Heartland never existed. I apologize for the secrecy but right now it is my whole life and what keeps me alive. I cannot linger here to explain everything to and you will have to learn the truth yourself. Yours in friendship, Hayley Parkin.

_We will not be silent _

_Wont hide it _

_The time is now _

_And you can't stop it _  
><em>Oh, oh, here we go<em>

_Welcome to the show _

_Lights shining, so blinding _

_From our head to our toes _

_When this room blacks out _

_You know we will stand out _

_So come on, oh were gonna glow!_

Mallory smiled slightly as she felt Barricade send a wave of curiosity to her through their reopened bond. It looked like she had another mystery to solve after Chicago was all cleaned up.

On the outside of Chicago Hayley Parkin leaned against a building, a twelve gauge shotgun resting on her shoulder as she watched the road. A navy blue van with rust spots everywhere pulled up with a rattling cough and a young woman stepped out. This woman had dark brown hair and level chocolate brown eyes. "It took you long enough Crystal," Hayley said and the other woman shrugged.

"Eden is phasing for the first time. We were a little busy," Crystal replied succinctly as she and Hayley loaded the blonde girl's things into the van. "Besides that I had to change the plates on the van. Tian ran a red light last time she drove, three actually, and we can't have the government tracking us."

"Too right," Hayley replied with a sigh, slamming the trunk door shut. "Shall we."

"The sooner the better," was Crystal's simple reply as she slid into the driver's seat and Hayley hopped in the passenger's.

Neither Hayley nor Mallory realized in that moment that their fate's were tied together and that someday they would meet together in one of the strangest cases the government had ever seen but that's another story.

_They see us coming from miles away _

_There's no hiding, no denying, cause were not ashamed _

_With our hands up in the air _

_Boys and girls they start to stare _

_It's a wonder, can you feel it_

The End?

* * *

><p><strong>What The Government Doesn't Tell You<strong> - It has been three whole years since the events at Chicago. The Autobots have been revealed to the world at large and Mallory is one of the many attaches at the base. When a series of strange murders, one of them signed with the familiar hand of Sarah Heartland, better known as Hayley Parkin, Mallory decides now is the time to find the mysterious girl who has eluded her search attempts so many times before. She finds a heck of a lot more than that.


End file.
